Sheathing splice



April 6, 1954 G. F. BARNETT SHEATHING SPLICE Filed April 9, 1951 INVENTOR. GEORGE E BARNETT Patented Apr. 6, 1954 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SHEATHING SPLICE George F. Barnett, San Francisco, Calif. Application April 9, 1951, Serial No. 219,931

3 Claims. 1

My invention relates to devices or hardware especially useful in building. In the construction of wooden buildings in particular, one of the operations is the provision of sheathing, either for walls or floors, disposed diagonally of the supporting structure such as studs or joists. Not only do the ends of the sheathing require an angular termination, usually at 45 degrees, but it is usually also necessary to saw the ends of the sheathing on the job at 45 degree angles in order to provide abutment of successive sheathing boards on and in immediate contact with the adjacent joist or stud, so that suitable fastening nails can be driven therethrough. This is satisfactory construction, but requires that labor be expended to saw the ends of the sheathing boards, and also results in a very substantial amount of waste material.

It is therefore an object of my invention to provide a way for salvaging a large amount of lumber which is ordinarily lost by trimming.

Another object of my invention is to provide an improved sheathing construction.

A further object of my invention is to provide a device effective in connection with sheathing lumber to render substantially all of it useful, and to provide a very strong junction between successive sheathing boards.

A still further object of my invention is to provide a splice for sheathing, which is satisfac- .fl

tory from the standpoint of strength, small amount of labor required for installation, and for permanence and approval by recognized construction authorities.

An additional object of my invention is to provide a device for assisting in splicing sheathing which is of a sufiiciently small cost to warrant its use.

Another object of the invention is to provide a sheathing splice which is economically manufactured, is simple and can readily be installed even by semi-skilled labor.

A still further object of my invention is to provide a sheathing splice which is usable after pre-treatment of the sheathing at the mill.

Other objects, together with the foregoing, are attained in the embodiment of my invention described in the accompanying description and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a plan of a construction showing a sheathing splice of my invention utilized in connection with sheathing applied to floor joists.

Figure 2 is an exploded view showing a sheathing splice, according to my invention, partly in position and with a cooperating sheathing board being brought into place.

Figure 3 is a cross section on the line 3-3 of Figure 2, and to a reduced scale.

In a typical frame construction for a building, utilizing wood as the structural material, there is provided an end plate 6 having a plurality of parallel similar timbers, such as joists 1 and 8 connected to it and disposed with their upper edges coplanar. In the customary fashion, a sheathing board 9 is laid upon the plate 6 and the joists 'l and is fastened thereto by a plurality of nails II and I2. One end l3 of the board 9 is cut off substantially at a 45 degree angle so that it is flush with the margin of the plate 6. Normally, at some point adjacent a joist l, for example, the sheathing board 9 is pre-cut to extend only substantially half way across the joist 1. The successive sheathing board is also cut, before being laid, to substantially the same angle and then put into abutment with the sheathing board 9 and fastened to the joist 7. The construction continues in that fashion. The cutoff ends of the sheathing boards are waste.

Pursuant to my invention, I leave the sheathing board 9, especially as illustrated in Figure 2, with its normal rectangularly cut end l4, and do not bevel or trim that end at all. There is a special feature about the sheathing board s, however, in that extended inwardly from the end I 4 is a pair of slots l6 and I1, preferably provided by saw cuts or kerfs. These are provided either on the job by a workman or preferably are put into the ends of the sheathing boards at a mill prior to shipment to the building site, and at the mill are readily cut by a pair of parallel, circular saws.

Similarly, the successive sheathing board I 9 is also provided with a similar pair of notches 2| and 22 in its transversely extending end 23. This end also remains rectangular and is not cut at an angle in any fashion whatsoever. Either before or after the sheathing board 9 is put into position, there is telescoped with that board a sheathing splice 26. This is an integral member or an article of manufacture, preferably fabricated of very thin metallic or other suitable material, either treated to prevent rusting or other deterioration, or made of a substance not susceptible to disintegration, for example, a 20 gauge steel galvanized sheet is satisfactory.

The sheet for the splice 26 includes a planar central portion 21 at appropriate intervals folded back onto itself along parallel fold lines 28 and 29 to provide parallel edges. The sheet is again folded along parallel lines 3| and 32 to define upstanding panels 33 and 34 of sufiicient extent to pass through the notches I6 and H, for instance. The sheet is further foldedv along the lines 36 and 31 so that the various folds, considered together, define a pair of oppositely disposed outwardly facing channels 38 and 39, adapted closely to encompass the material of the sheathing boards 9 and |9.

The fold lines 36 and 31 are parallel to the other fold lines and are such as to establish a pair of coplanar terminal flanges 4| and 42 of greater width than the bottom portions of the channels 38 and 39. The metallic splicing structure so formed is easily slid end-wise into the notches l6 and I1 and into the notches 2| and 22, and frictionally forms a tight interengagement between the sheathing boards 9 and IS with the ends thereof in close abutment.

To supplement the holding power of the frica tional engagement of the sheathing splice, the flanges 4| and 42 are provided with a number 'of perforations 43, disposed outwardly of the edges 28 and 29, so that suitable fastenings such as nails 44 can be passed therethrough and will clear the lower flanges if the nails are longer than the thickness of the sheathing or, if they are of sufficiently short length, will terminate within the material of the sheathing as shown in Fig-- ure 3.

By the provision of this structure, I have afforded a splice which permits the use of sheathing lumber with square ends, saves the labor of beveling ends and of nailing exactly on a joist, for example, and afiords a strong, permanent, simple and inexpensive splicing device.

What is claimed is:

1. A sheathing splice comprising a pair of elongated end-abutting sheathing boards each having a pair of kerfs extending inwardly from the end thereof in the direction of the length of said boards, a sheet contoured to provide a pair of connected outwardly facing channels disposed in said kerfs and overlying the adjacent outer faces of said boards, and fasteners engaging said sheet and said boards.

2. A sheathing splice comprising a pair of elongated end-abutting sheathing boards of predetermined thickness, each having a pair of longitudinal kerfs extending inwardly from the end thereof, said kerfs being spaced apart to define a central portion and a pair of side portions of said board and being cut through the thickness of the board, said pairs of kerfs being in alignment with each other when the board ends abut, and a sheet having a thickness substantially that of a kerf, said sheet being contoured to provide a pair of outwardly facing channels in part lying in said kerfs and receiving the side portions of both of said boards and being contoured to provide a portion connecting said channels and underlying the central portion of both of said boards.

3. As an article of manufacture for use with a pair of elongated end-abutting sheathing boards of predetermined thickness each having a pair of longitudinal kerfs extending inwardly from the end thereof, said kerfs being spaced apart to define a central portion and a pair of side portions of said board and being cut through the thickness of the board, said pairs of kerfs being in alignment with each other when the board ends abut, said article comprising a sheet of metal having a thickness substantially that of a kerf, said sheet being bent upon itself along lines parallel to a kerf to provide a pair of upstanding parallel panels is and pairs of entirely coplanar flanges at right angles to said flanges defining a pair of open ended outwardly facing channels of uniform height adapted to receive said side portions and being reversely bent upon itself at the outward edges of corresponding flanges of said pairs along lines parallel to a kerf to provide a central portion underlying said corresponding flanges and of a width to accommodate said central portion between said panels.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 491,417 Fincher Feb. '7, 1893 1,354,155 Barclay Sept. 28, 1920 2,495,303 Wisniewski Jan. 24, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 66,136 Sweden Oct. 9, 1928 

